Earlier this year, I came across a paper in the eminent journal Science entitled ‘Neural Decoding of Visual Imagery in Sleep’ – in other words, dream interpretation. That phrase typically evokes the image of a patient reclined on a chaise longue opposite an analyst spouting Freudian pseudoscientific malarkey.

But that perception is decades outdated.

Dream interpretation and mind reading is a hot topic in neuroscience, because scientists realise that it offers a window onto how the brain works. It might shine a light on how the brain stores memories or manages emotions.

Computational neuroscientists train computers to associate brain MRI scans with seeing certain images, and using that, the computers are able to decode and interpret brain scans it’s never seen before – essentially, it looks at how your brain is working to figure out what you’re looking at.

Companies hope they can use this technology in the emerging field of neurolaw – using neuroscience to inform legal cases. Current research suggests that computers can identify whether a person has previously “visited” a virtually created house. The potential of this technology is that the system might be able to tell whether a suspect who denies being at the scene of a crime is lying. Some say that’s scary, but regardless of ethics, it’s undeniably cool.